Mystery
Worshipper: Liturgist.The church:St Mark's
Cathedral, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.Denomination:The Episcopal
Church, Diocese
of Minnesota.The building:
It is a neo-Gothic building in the perpendicular style, with
the usual two aisles and a high clerestory, but without transepts.
The ribbed vaulting is fairly simple, but the spaces are filled
with light colored stones in a geometric pattern, adding visual
interest. Erected as the parish's third building in 1908, with
the idea that it might become a cathedral, it attained that
status in 1941. It hosted the First World Anglican Congress
in 1954 and this is marked by the installation in the floor
of the nave of the first Anglican Compass Rose designed by the
late Canon Edward N. West.The church:
The church is intentionally inclusive and welcoming. Some members
were wearing "Ask Me" buttons and offered informed answers to
questions about the cathedral. Mrs Liturgist actually worshiped
there when growing up, but has been away for nearly 50 years.The neighborhood:
The cathedral is located in the center of the city, on the edge
of Loring Park. Some museums, the Tyrone Guthrie Theater, and
a large Presbyterian church are nearby. We saw an ad for a new
condominium building, but the area did not appear to be largely
residential.The cast:
The Revd Dr Mildred L. Cox, assistant priest, was the celebrant,
assisted by the Revd Deacon Patrick Markie. The Revd Canon Richard
H. Norman, Jr preached. The organist was Raymond Johnston, and
the lectors were Kathy McGill and Sylvia Foreman. Other lay
and ordained participants were not individually identified.The date & time:
August 18, 2013, 10.30am.

What was the name of the service?
Holy Eucharist, Rite II.

How full was the building?
The building seats about 900 and was nearly half full.

Did anyone welcome you personally?
We took advantage of the elevator to enter from the parish house.
A group of greeters welcomed us and took time for brief conversation
in addition to giving us bulletins.

Was your pew comfortable?
The pews were cushioned and quite comfortable. We wound up in
the front pew, which had no kneelers (others did), but many
people stood for most of the prayers anyway.

How would you describe the pre-service
atmosphere?
The prelude (Couperin's Agnus Dei) was in progress,
and the atmosphere was quiet and reverent. (The greeters were
just outside the worship space.)

What were the exact opening words of the
service?
Announcements preceded the service and began with: "Good morning."
After a pause, worship began with the hymn: "Lift high the cross."

What books did the congregation use during the
service?
The Book of Common Prayer 1979 and the Hymnal 1982
were in the pews and were used. Some additional material was
in the bulletins.

What musical instruments
were played?
The organ, an opus of Foley-Baker Inc. of Tolland, Connecticut,
dating from 2012, that incorporates some of the pipework from
the original 1929 Welte organ and some later additions by the
Kimball and Moller companies. The result is a magnificent instrument
beautifully suited to the space.

Did anything distract
you?
Canon Norman wore an alb with a large cowl type of hood/collar that kept reminding us of John the Baptist after his close encounter with Salome.

Was the worship stiff-upper-lip, happy clappy, or
what?
The worship pattern was traditional and fairly formal, but not
stiff. The leaders seemed to know what they were doing, and
did it without fussing.

Exactly how long was the sermon?
13 minutes.

On a scale of 1-10, how
good was the preacher?
8  For some reason it is more difficult to hear speech
from the pulpit than from the altar or choir  Canon Norman
projected well but it was still harder to follow the sermon
than the announcements he had made earlier.

In a nutshell, what was
the sermon about?
The topic was divisions on earth, from the gospel of the day:
Luke 12:49-56 (Jesus says that he came not to bring peace, but
rather division). He began with the story of St Francis (whose
statue is on the pulpit) and his confrontation with his father
as an illustration of such a division. The point drawn from
this was that such divisions require us to make decisions, and
we need to work to make the right ones.

Which part of the service was like being in
heaven?
The organ and organist (who came out of the English cathedral
tradition and represented it excellently).

And which part was like being in... er... the other place?
What bothered us the most was that most of the sermon's suggested
"right decisions" were strongly on the politically
liberal side (probably welcome to most of the congregation but
not to us).

What happened when you hung around after the service looking lost?
We wandered around to see the cathedral. Many of the people
spoke and at least one did mention that the coffee was on the
lawn. As we had seen the set-up on the way in, no further directions
were needed.

How would you describe the after-service
coffee?
Adequate, and it was served in real china. We fell in with a small but friendly group, but didn't speak with anyone else.

How would you feel about making this church your regular (where 10 = ecstatic, 0 = terminal)?
7  Of course it's a long commute, and we would tend to
look for a more conservative atmosphere. However, the music
was great, the sermon did make a valid point, and there was
a sense of reverence and devotion there.

Did the service make you feel glad to be a
Christian?
Emphatically.

What one thing will you remember about all this in seven days' time?
Two actually: the organ playing and John the Baptist.

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